Broom-bridle.



'J. E. HEWETT.

BROOM BRIDLE. APPLICATION HLIFD-JU'LY 15. 1915.

1,21,299. I Patenfie Oct.17,1916.

INVENTOR yfianca 'ATTORNEY JOHN E. HEWET'I', OF WILMINGTON, NORTHCAROLINA.

BROOM-BRIDLE.

Application filed July 15,1915. Seria1No.40,092.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN E. 'Hnwnr'r, a citizen of the United States,residing .at Wilmington, in the county of New Hanover and State of NorthCarolina, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inBroo1n-Br1dlcs, of which the followmg 1s a specification.

This invention relates to an improved broom bridle and the principalobject of the invention is to provide a bridle which is so constructedthat it will be very tightly held about the broom but at the same timeper-- mitted to have expansion so that if the broom is subjected toexcessive strain the bridle can expand and thus be prevented beingbroken. This will also prevent danger,

of the broom straws being broken if the broom is subjected to unusualstrain.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved plates formingpartot' the bridle, the plates being so constructed that they willconform to the contour of the broom and permit the broom straws to ,25

spread slightly without being broken Another object'of the invention isto provide improved means for yieldably connecting' these plates so. theplates will be held in very tight engagement with the broom and hold thebroom in the proper shape.

This invention is illustrated in companying drawings, wherein v Figure 1is a view in elevation of a portion of a broom showing the improvedbridle mounted thereon, Fig. 2 is a top plan the acview of the improvedbridle, the broom being indicated by dotted lines, Fig; 3 is a View inelevation of one of the plates'forming part of the bridle, and Fig. 4 isa vertical sectional view through the plates shown in Fig. 3,

The bridle ismounted upon the broom 10 as shown in Fig. 1 and ispositioned beneath the lines of stitches 11 and braces the broom strawsso that the broom will be held in the proper shape and the strawsprevented from spreading and thus preventing the broom' from sweepingimproperly. The plates 12 are curved transversely as shown in Fig. 2 andhave their upper and lower end portions bent outwardly to'fOrIIl th lips13 and Specification of Letters Patent.

broken.

7 being 14 which permit the platesto be held in very tight, engagementwith the broom straws without danger of the straws being The tongues arestruck from the plates 12 and are bent outwardly to form the eyes 15 orif desired these eyes may be formed from separate strips of metal 15 asshown in Fig. 1 and secured to the plates by any suitable means such forinstance as by soldered or riveted to the plates. In order to yieldablyconnect these plates there is provided a spring 16 which passes throughthe eyes 15. and extends about the broom thus serving as means forholding the broom straws 111 the proper position as well as servlng asmeans for yieldably connecting the plates. Therefore this spring servesas a straw binding element as well as connecting means for the plates.Then using this device the broom handle will be passed through the'spring between the plates and the bridle will then be slipped over theupper portion of the broom head and drawn down along the straws with theplates fitting about the edge faces of the broom and the springextending along the side faces of the broom. The spring will havesufficient strength to hold the plates in very tight engagement with thestraws but at the same time will permit the plates to move sufficientlyto release the strain in case excessive strain is placed upon the broomfor any reason. After the broom is worn out the bridle can be'easilyremoved and placed upon a new broom. It will thus be seen that thebridle can be easily changed from one broom to another and thereforedoes not have to be thrown away with the broom when the broom is wornout.

loosely connecting the spring with the central portion of the plates forpermitting the plates to have pivotal movement independent of thespring.

2. A broom bridle comprising broom engaging plates arcuate in crosssection for straddling the edge portions of a broom, In testimonywhereof I afiix my signature outwardly extending eyes at the central inpresence of two Witnesses.

portions of said plates and a lorooin encir- T 1 1 r cling springextending about said plates and JOHN HA l E 5 through said eyes toyieldably connect the Witnesses: v

plates said eyes loosely connecting the plates 1 IREDELL MnAnEs,

with the spring. BURKE H. BRIDGES.

